DAVIES CREEK

Near Mareeba is the Davies Creek Trail Network, a Tropical North Queensland wilderness experience only a 40 minute drive from Cairns but a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city. This natural trail has been tweaked slightly to make it mountain bike friendly, but there are no manufactured obstacles as the aim is for riders to simply enjoy their surroundings.

Trails can be ridden in their entirety or in sections with travel clockwise only. They are fast and flowing with no real technical challenges, however, riders will need a decent level of fitness to negotiate the climbs. There are six easy sections from 500m to 4km and four intermediate sections from 1km to 2km. Camping is available nearby at beautiful Davies Creek.

Basically the trail consists of a large “Gateway Loop” combining the Velodrome, Twin Gullies, the Powerline Trail, The Link, The Bone, and Sawmill Flats. Off these are a number of fingers – Balboa, McGrath’s Maize, Dingo Run and Youthful Yindin.

Once you have explored the Atherton Tablelands, take the adventurous route back to Cairns by following Stage 2 of the Crocodile Trophy. This can be done by combining the trails along Davies Creek Road, Veivers Track and Bridle Creek Road.